Trust—it’s often considered the key to success in romantic and familial relationships. And now, new research points to the critical role trust will play in hiring and retention in 2025.

For context, consider what a lack of trust in interpersonal relationships looks like, says Jay Caldwell, chief talent officer at ADP. People are guarded, on their toes, feel like they can’t communicate authentically. “It makes a lot of sense” if that relationship suffers and ends, he says.

The same holds true in the workplace.

“Coming in, if you feel like you don’t trust the organization or its people, you’re less likely to give your best ideas, to share your best contributions openly and honestly—and you may potentially feel like you’re not safe,” Caldwell says. “So, when another organization comes calling, your probability of jumping ship is going to be much higher.”

Hiring and retention in 2025: Why trust matters so much

HR leaders will be particularly attuned to that risk this year, as HR Executive’s What’s Keeping HR Up at Night? research points to ongoing concerns about hiring and retention in 2025. That has remained HR leaders’ most pressing challenge since the 2019 survey, when it claimed the top spot for the first time.

In 2024, about 32.5% of the approximately 400 HR professionals surveyed cited hiring and retention as their key priority. This is a figure that has declined steadily since the peak of the Great Resignation a few years ago—but is still 17 percentage points ahead of the next most common challenge (HR technology, a new entrant to the top five).
To ultimately get ahead of this perennial concern, Caldwell says, organizations need to concentrate first on building trust with employees and candidates.

“We have far fewer organizations today who look at all their workforce as lifetime employees, and we have far fewer employees who think they’ll make a career at the same organization over the next 30 years,” Caldwell says. “So, there’s more movement, higher turnover and people are much more inclined to pack up and leave than they were long ago—and that makes trust all the more important.”

3 opportunities to build trust and enhance hiring and retention in 2025

What does trust in the workplace look like?

Like in an interpersonal relationship, Caldwell says, three factors—autonomy, security and communication—can help employees establish trust with their teams, managers and leaders.

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